If you read The Corvallis Advocate yesterday, you already know this year’s School Board candidates are scheduled for a debate on Monday, April, 17 at 6 pm. If you didn’t read the Advocate yesterday… well, now you know.
Of the four races for School Board this year, only one is contested. Incumbent Tina Baker has declined to seek reelection, Chris Hawkins and Steve Castellano are vying for the position. Click here for more info about the debate and the candidates.
Speaking of the School Board: The current Board is set to meet this evening, Thursday, April 13 at 6:30 pm. Click here for access and the agenda.
We Found You Some More Summer Camp Openings: Finding slots for summer day camp has continued to be unusually tough this year, but between some late announcements from a few camp providers, and just a little gumshoeing on our part, we have some good news for you…
Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis. Good fun for kids and a compelling value for working parents, B&GC camps run from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm throughout the summer break. Groups are divided by ages, and everyone gets choices of art, physical fun and a game room, organized sports, and STEM learning opportunities. All that at only $155 weekly, and they throw in free lunches, dinners and snacks, and they offer scholarships if you need one. Quick note, yes, it’s a club, but you don’t have to be a member to enroll your kiddo into their camps, so how cool is that.
Valley Rock Gym. These five-day camps break down into three age groups, the youngest being ages 6 to 8, where instructors guide climbers through an exploration of climbing fundamentals that help young climbers develop confidence, trust, and social skills. For ages 9 to 12, they teach climbing skills ranging from basic footwork to more complex body movements and problem-solving – the goal is to equip the campers to take on the challenges that climbing offers. For ages 12 to 15, they offer a collaborative environment for climbers to explore more nuanced bouldering techniques, and they help campers identify and work towards goals, and continue to develop their strength, balance, coordination and skill. Cost is $275 to $350. At press time, plenty of openings.
KidSpirit. For grades K-8, camps are titled like Galactic Adventurers, Adventure Quest, Pacific Northwest Explorers, Clue Finders, Wizards and Magic of Science, and Unleash Your Inner Hero. For grades 9 to 12, there is the Teen Leader Program, and according to KidSpirit, a number of those campers eventually become camp counselors. At press time, there was good availability for most of the programs, but like other OSU offerings, you do have to create an online account to check for yourself.
There are options for one- and two-week camps, half day or full, and even meals. Costs range between $192 and $655. Scholarships are available.
AWSEM Club. Offered through OSU, AWSEM Club says they’re “designed to nurture girls’ interest in STEM by providing a program of hands-on activities paired with female undergraduate students studying STEM. The goal of the clubs is to introduce girls to STEM career fields in which women are traditionally underrepresented.” They offer a host of summer camps, everything from Toxicology and Wild About Wildlife to Coding and Engineering – and bunches beyond all that. At press time about two-thirds of the camps were still available. Like other OSU offerings, you’ll need to create an online account to check availability for yourself. And, we get it, the OSU online system is a bit clunky, comparatively – but we’d also point out there’s good reason that these programs fill up each year. Expect costs between $90 and $300.
More Camp-a-Geddon Updates: Many of the camps we reported on last week are now filled, but not all of them, so they still may be worth a look. Also, The Arts Center hasn’t announced their summer schedule quite yet, and we’ll let you know when they do. In the interim, if you become aware of a share-worthy camp, please let us know – and thanks in advance.
New Principals, Lincoln and Linus Pauling: Every year, it’s like musical chairs nationwide about now, but it’s not a birthday party, it’s school district administrator trading season. Here in Corvallis, we prior reported a new principal for next year at Cheldelin Middle School, and now we report three more incomings.
Lincoln Elementary will welcome Chaundra Smith as its new principal for the next school year, and she will officially take the reins July 1. Most recently, she worked for the Educator Advancement Council in Salem as a professional learning facilitator, supporting statewide professional learning systems and reviewing and analyzing equity in policies and professional learning opportunities. Before that, she worked for the Greater Albany Public Schools District as a principal and the Corvallis School District as a dual language instructional coach and English language learner program coordinator. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has worked in public education for 26 years.
Over at Linus Pauling Middle School, Greg Hyde assumes the principal’s office – given he’s been serving as the school’s Assistant Principal, we suspect the LP school community is already acquainted. He started his 29-year public education career as a science teacher, having worked for the Corvallis, Oregon City, and Gordon County School Districts.
Caleea Kidder will step into Hyde’s current vice-principal’s position. She is currently a Human Resources Administrator at the Greater Albany Public Schools District. Before that, she was a principal at the Community of Peace Middle School and an assistant principal and dean of students at Hiawatha Academies. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.
By Advocate Staff
